It is tempting to
consider Darkest Hour as a companion
film rather than on its own merits alone, and this is partly due to one of the
films also nominated for Academy Awards this year. While Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk deals exclusively with the
events occurring on the front lines of the British retreat from Belgium, Darkest Hour is entirely focused on the
political decisions being made during the same period. So, while Dunkirk lacks context, Darkest Hour is missing the excitement
of the wartime action. While it is easy to consider the spectacular film we
might have had with both of these narratives combined, it is far more important
to acknowledge how director Joe Wright has managed to make Darkest Hour every bit as visually exciting as Dunkirk, even without any action sequences.